0 no! Olympic athlete pleads for tattooists to change his Tokyo 2020 body art to say 2021 after the Games are postponed a year
- Paraguayan long-distance runner Derlis Ayala, 30, has a ‘Tokyo 2020’ tattoo
- He has appealed for help changing the ‘0’ because the games have been moved
- Social media users suggested he could get ‘2020+1’ or turn it into ‘0ne’
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An Olympic athlete has made a desperate plea for help after getting a ‘Tokyo 2020’ tattoo.
Paraguayan long-distance runner Derlis Ayala, 30, got the body art when he qualified in September last year, after finishing first among South American athletes and fifth in the Buenos Aires Marathon.
But he has now appealed for a tattooist to change the ‘0’ because the Olympics have been pushed back by a year.
Tokyo 2020 was set for July 24, but has been moved to the summer of 2021 as athletes intensive training schedules are disrupted by coronavirus.
Paraguayan long-distance runner Derlis Ayala, 30, got the above tattoo when he qualified for the games in September last year. However, he now wants it changed
He is appealing for help getting the last ‘0’ on his right calf changed. He is pictured above
Mr Ayala has the tattoo on his right calf, with the phrase ‘Tokyo 2020’ written beneath five Olympic rings.
He uploaded it to social media with the caption: ‘Can someone help me put 2021?
‘When I got it done they told me… and if it changes city…’
Social media users have suggested he could try 2020+1, use the ‘0’ to write 0ne, or just tell others that he has a unique tattoo.
The athlete also attended the last Olympics, in Rio de Janeiro, and finished in 136th position.
He won a bronze medal in the 3,000-metre steeplechase 2009 Pan American Junior Athletics Championship and holds several national records including in the 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres.
The International Olympics Committee has said that despite the change, the event will keep the name ‘Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020’.
The athlete also attended the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, where he finished 136th in the men’s marathon
The athlete is pictured above training for the Olympic games in Paraguay, South America
The games were postponed after Australia and Canada withdrew from the competition, and the US and UK said they would not compete unless the date was moved.
Japan was pushed into making the decision, after previously saying it would conduct a month-long consultation on the date.
This is the first time the Olympics have ever been postponed, though they were cancelled completely in 1916, 1940 and 1944 due to the world wars.